Apple Cider Turkey Brine
Recipe: #9153
April 20, 2013
Categories: Christmas Sunday Dinner, Thanksgiving, Marinades and Brines, more
"Use this for your holiday turkeys with a brining bag or food safe plastic bags that will hold a turkey, such a oven cooking bags. It's a good idea when refrigerating to keep the bag propped up in something large enough to hold the bottom of the turkey, like a dutch oven, so it doesn't tip and spill the brine everywhere. I double bag mine."
Ingredients
Nutritional
- Serving Size: 1 (3101 g)
- Calories 2071.9
- Total Fat - 12.6 g
- Saturated Fat - 3 g
- Cholesterol - 21 mg
- Sodium - 76151.1 mg
- Total Carbohydrate - 490.2 g
- Dietary Fiber - 19.5 g
- Sugars - 353.3 g
- Protein - 18.1 g
- Calcium - 380.1 mg
- Iron - 7.7 mg
- Vitamin C - 94.1 mg
- Thiamin - 0.7 mg
Step by Step Method
Step 1
In a 3-4 quart saucepan, combine cider with salt, sugar, ginger, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and allspice; stir to dissolve salt.
Step 2
Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 3-4 minutes; remove from heat, add 4 cups of ice water and set aside to cool.
Step 3
Line a heavy roasting pan with turkey-sized oven cooking bags (which should be double-layered).
Step 4
Remove the turkey from it's wrapping, remove neck and giblets (store separately), and rinse and prepare bird.
Step 5
Stuff cavity with orange quarters.
Step 6
Make a collar of the top of cooking bags (helps keep bags open), and slip bird inside, stand it upright (legs pointing up), and unfold the top of the bag.
Step 7
Pour the brine over the bird, and add an additional 2 cups of water.
Step 8
Draw up the first inner bag, squeezing out as much air as possible, and secure with a twist-tie; do the same for the outer bag.
Step 9
Place the turkey, breast side down, in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning 3-4 times while brining.
Step 10
Just prior to roasting, remove the turkey from the brine; discard the bags, brine, and all cured herbs, spices, and oranges remaining in the bird.
Step 11
Rinse the turkey under cold water and pat dry with paper toweling.
Step 12
Air-dry turkey under refrigeration for 4-6 hours (before cooking) for a crispier crust when roasting.
Step 13
The turkey is now ready to be roasted.
Tips
- 2 turkey size oven cooking bags (Reynold's preferred)